Various substrate process sequences use some type of thermal treatment in addition to the deposition or etch processes that are performed on the substrate. These processes are typically performed in a vacuum environment. Such thermal treatment may be performed before or after the process. For example, a substrate may be thermally treated before processing to degas any absorbed moisture on the substrate. After processing of a substrate, the substrate may be thermally treated to anneal the processed substrate.
In many cases, standalone furnaces are used to thermally treat a substrate. However, a separate furnace is costly and occupies a large amount of valuable space in a fab. Also, the thermal treatment, for example for a degas process, takes a relatively long time due to the extensive time for moisture and residue removal to be completed. If the thermal treatment operation (before or after processing) takes longer than the process itself, the throughput of the entire system is negatively impacted.
Therefore, the inventor has provided an improved substrate heating apparatus for use with integrated fabrication systems.